Maybe Geometry is Magic
by Jade and Wendy
Summary: Two girls are killed in an accident while finishing some last minute homework, and wake up amongst the orcs who had kidnapped Merry and Pippin. What will they do? How do they get away? Fear my melodrama!
1. How it Started

DISCLAIMER: Alrighty, I don't own Lord of the Rings, or Middle Earth, or any of the characters specifically named in here expect for Candace and Manda. The awesome and magnificent Tolkien wrote it all, and I love him for it.  
  
Authors Note: Rightyo, another girl(s) goes into Middle Earth thing, right here. It's set in the part where Merry and Pippin get caught by the Orcs, in the second book. If ya don't like that stuff, turn back now. If you're ok with it, go right ahead. And if you don't like them, read it, then flame us for it, you're gonna be ignored. No point in trying, my dears. Honest excuses are good. R&R, gimme yer opinion (please!), and thanks a bunch ^_^.  
  
Manda and Candace charged down the icy sidewalk that led to the bus stop.  
  
"We're gonna be laaaaate!" Candace screamed at the top of her lungs, dragging a stuffed backpack behind her. "I don't want to miss this bus again!"  
  
"Run FASTER, then, you idiot!" Manda yelped back, gulping air and lugging a bag as big or bigger than Candace's. "It's TOO COLD to walk to school, and too icy and my ankle is still hurting from your stupid brother and his dumb dog, so you had better just keep pumping those longs legs and quit wasting your breath!" she puffed.  
  
The truth of the matter was, Manda and Candace were opposites in a lot of ways. Manda was a little on the short side, and Candace was tall. Manda was a little out of shape, and Candace was athletic. Manda could write like a pro but couldn't draw, and Candace could draw with the masters but was still uneasy in her writing talents.  
  
Then again, there were similarities. They both had short hair, Manda's a light brown and Candace's a reddish blonde. They both loved reading, and they both loved movies, but then again... doesn't everybody? Or, at least, that's the way they thought about it.  
  
"We're gonna make it!" Candace sang, as the bus stop came into view, and the bus still wasn't in sight. The small group of kids that usually rode it were already there, waiting around, joking, and bullying each other.  
  
"For once!" Manda squealed as they both skidded to a stop on the icy pavement.  
  
Both of them were panting heavily, but were still quite happy considering the heavy book bags and the distance they'd covered in just three minutes. They'd gotten used to the crazed rush, since they both insisted on sleeping in as much as possible. They usually paid for it by walking over a mile through field, brush, and crazy farmer land. Almost every day they got to school with muddy shoes and twigs stuck in their hair.  
  
They lived near each other, out in the sticks and surrounded by hillbillies of every shape and size, which is why you can believe they stayed around each other so much; hillbillies are better handled together. Not that it was it was hard or anything, but sometimes they had guns or got drunk, and the ones with shotguns were usually threatening people to get off their property. They put up with that stuff a lot; they crossed fields on the way to school.  
  
The bus had just come into view, thundering up the rode like a giant yellow beast from Hades.  
  
Candace suddenly moaned out loud. "Oh man.... I forgot my geometry..."  
  
Manda looked at her in dismay, "Ohhh, you idiot! How could you forget the geometry? There's a test today and Mr. Freeman is gonna kill you..."  
  
"Oh shut up!" said Candace, pursing her lips and narrowing her eyes.  
  
The bus stopped in front of them... sort of. It was a good ten feet from the actual stop, but that was better aim then usual. All of the kids started screaming and shoving to get the best seat possible, leaving Manda and Candace to end up with the very back seat. The very back seat was undesirable because of the grunge and exhaust from the motor. In fact the last five or six seats were never occupied if it could be helped.  
  
The bus started on, groaning and roaring as it guzzled gas and choked up fumes like a jobless drunk. For the next few minutes the two girls frantically tried to make up for forgotten homework.  
  
They didn't even notice when the bus got closer to the intersection, or when the semi came hurtling at them. The last thing they remembered seeing was Candace's geometry book and hearing a loud roar, then the sickly crunch of metal and glass and bones breaking. They last thing they felt was their heads cracking together from the impact.  
  
To give a clear account, the bus was on a busy intersection when a semi ran a red light. It was speeding, and smashed into the back left side of the bus so hard that it was actually broken off, crushed like a can and ripped apart like tissue paper. Nobody was seriously hurt, expect for the two fifteen year old girls in the very back. They were the only fatalities.  
  
Author Note: Well, that's the first chapter. Short, I know, but it seemed like a good spot to stop it. It'll be in Middle earth for the next chapters. 


	2. Meet the Hobbits

DISCLAIMER: You know the drill, everything but Manda and Candace belongs to Tolkien. *nodnod*  
  
Darkness had taken over after all of the noise and pain. In the dark it was hard to think about any one thing for long, but it seemed alright somehow, when you're still in bed on a weekend and you can't quite get back to sleep, so you're content to just lay there and think of nothing in particular. It seemed like that for a long time.  
  
Manda was the first to drag herself out of the stupor, partly of her own will and partly because she was starting to feel a consistent and demanding pounding in her skull. Suddenly she was really awake, laying on her side and staring at several sets of old muddy boots, all occupied. There was some raucous conversation going on, but she couldn't understand anything of it.  
  
A blow to Manda's stomach sent her rolling, if only onto her back. She moaned softly, not really understanding what was going on.  
  
"Get up, you little maggot!" a snarling, guttural voice snapped. There was more talking she couldn't understand, and another kick.  
  
"I'm trying, I'm trying..." Manda choked out, and pushed herself into a sitting position. Everything was spinning out of control. She felt the back of her shirt grabbed and used to yank her to her unsteady feet. She looked up slowly, trying to make sense of things.  
  
The first point that jumped out to her was the ugly face of a monstrous creature, something between a frog and a bull dog and a man. It's skin was a greenish gray a slimy looking, it had teeth jutting up out and of it's mouth, and it's eyes were a sulfurous yellow. Its nose was flat and broad.  
  
She heard more of the nasty, brutish language that meant nothing to her, and her head snapped to look at the source. More of the ugly beasts, everywhere, and all of them with some sort of weapon. She did the only thing she could do at the time. She screamed.  
  
A soft voice nearby started to moan, "Whaaaa...."  
  
"Candy! Candy, wake up, wake up now, we-" she was cut off as one of the monsters cuffed her soundly and bared its teeth, another raising a sword to her throat, pressing the tip against her skin.  
  
"Be QUIET!" It roared, "Or I will kill you now!"  
  
Manda fell silent. Candace whimpered again, and very soon Manda could hear scuffling. Moments later Candace was shoved into her, nearly throwing the both of them back to the ground.  
  
"Ooh..." Candace whispered. "What's happening, Manda...?"  
  
"I don't know." Manda whispered back hurriedly. "Be quiet, though. Now isn't a good time."  
  
Manda felt a clawed hand grip the back of her head and was forced to turn around. One of the nasty monster things was digging through her and Candace's bags. Text books, make up, paper, and pencils were strewn everywhere. The thing picked up Manda's physics book and leafed roughly through it. She could hear it growling in some strange tongue. Finally it looked up at her and said in a gruff voice, "What is this trash? How came you by this book of magic?"  
  
Manda looked at it quizzically. Candace had finally gotten hold of things and said, "What the hell are you talking about? That's not magic, dumb ass, that's physics."  
  
Right after Manda heard this a high pitched yelp came after. Candace had been slapped in the head by one of the things. Manda couldn't stand that. She didn't care about anything right then. "You mess with a friend and it's on!!" Manda yelled as she tried to kick the creature, but only got her weak ankle, a little sore from getting smacked by an errant baseball and then a crazy dog, twisted in return, without even touching the beast.  
  
Manda fell to the ground but was forced back up. The creature holding her book strode forward and looked at them, then said, "We will take them to Sharku. These are obviously sorceresses. He will know what to do." With that he shoved all of the stuff back into the bags and threw them at two of the other monsters. "Carry those bags of tricks and be warned. If you cross us, you will be killed." It turned, said something in the other odd tongue and before they knew it Candace and Manda were being forced to run like herd beasts.  
  
They ran and ran through glades and fields for what seemed like forever, not stopping at all. Manda was gasping for breath. Candace, on the other hand, was muttering darkly to herself. Candace could handle the running a bit better than Manda, owing to the fact that she had been in dance all her life. Manda wasn't in too good of shape, and her ankle still hurt badly. Finally after what seemed like ages, Manda just collapsed. She was immediately forced back up, kicked and wrenched about painfully.  
  
"Keep moving!" the thing roared at her. Manda, try as she might, couldn't stay on her feet. She was downright exhausted, and her ankle was swollen. The thing kicked her again, and soon after picked her up and threw her over its leather covered back like a sack of potatoes.  
  
It ran on roughly, jarring Manda and making her bounce up and down rudely. She could now see Candace right in front of her. Candace was getting tired and worn out too. Her face was pale and she was sweating profusely, her breathing turning raspy. Candace could do long distances, but not like this. As Manda watched her Candace tripped, fell, and wouldn't get back up. She too was picked up and carried in the same harsh fashion.  
  
As the moon started to set and the sun showed it hot, glaring face, the creatures tossed Candace and Manda onto two other nonmoving figures. Candace could hear light breathing in her left ear and felt cold skin against her own. She lifted her head a little and saw a boy's face, or at least it looked like a boy's. His eyes were closed and faced screwed up as if having nightmares. His hair was dark and curly. She looked to her side and saw Manda completely passed out. She too was sprawled limply on another boy.  
  
Candace could feel the adrenaline rush she got when she got mad. How could they be thrown around like rag dolls?! What were these freaky looking creature things? If only someone would come save them! Candace smiled at her own melodramatic thoughts. Even though the things scared the hell out of her, and she was stiff and cold, not to mention hungry, she could still smile. Caught up in her own thoughts Candace let her head drop onto the boy's and fell into a deep sleep.  
  
Manda woke up when a bright light shone against her eyelids and warmed her face. "Mmmp..." she whimpered faintly. Her ankle was hurting like crazy, and her muscles were aching. Her throat was really dry, too.  
  
She was about to go back to sleep when a voice very near her ear quietly said, "Excuse me..." Manda started, lurching away from the source of the voice. She got a little jarred, and realized she'd been laying about halfway on top of someone a little smaller than her. "I'm sorry," The timid voice whispered softly. "I didn't mean to scare you, miss. I was just having trouble breathing, that's all." The voice was a little weak, probably from lack of air and energy, and sounded like it belonged to a youngish man. She looked at him dully, and the voice didn't seem to fit him; he looked younger than her.  
  
His eyes and hair were dark brown, the latter being curly and a bit unkempt. He looked mischievous somehow, even though his expression was very sullen. It didn't fit him. For some reason, she thought he ought to be joking and having a good time, not laying there with his hands bound like hers.  
  
"Who are you?" She whispered, getting curious. "Where are we? What are those things? Where are they? What's going on?" She twisted her head about, trying to see her surroundings, but she couldn't see enough. There were bags stacked up all around.  
  
He blinked a little owlishly. "My name is Meriadoc Brandybuck, but you can call me Merry like everybody else. I'm not too sure where we are, I think in Rohan maybe? I'm awfully confused from all of the running, you know. From `those things', I guess you mean Orcs. They've kidnapped all of us and I'm not sure where they're taking us. We've been resting just now because there's some trouble between the different groups, I suppose. They're all arguing about what they should really do with you and your friend. She's laying on my friend Pippin. Ah, what's you name, if you don't mind my asking?"  
  
Manda was quiet for a moment. They were both nervous, going on and on like that. She could just see some of Candy past Merry, which reassured her a little. "I'm Manda Jones... Her name's Candace..." she whispered softly. "People call her Candy. Can you tell what time it is, Merry?"  
  
He craned his neck a little and stared up at the sky. "I'd say late afternoon... the Orcs will be moving on soon, once it gets dark. You can be sure we'll be running all night and probably through tomorrow and the next night too... I don't know how long this shall keep up, but we'll probably traveling twice as hard as yesterday to make up for lost time."  
  
Manda nodded slowly, relaxing a little. She really was tired, and she only had a few more hours of sleep, she guessed. Better to take his advice than to ignore it and be in even sadder shape than before.  
  
Merry watched her head drop back to the rocky ground. Manda sighed, her hands twitching against the chafing bonds, then her breathing fell and he expected that she was asleep. "Don't worry..." he murmured. "Pippin and I will come up with something." He wasn't going to let those dreadful orcs harm the poor girls... it was obvious from the conversation that Manda didn't really understand what was happening. He hoped that he and Pippin could do something to save them. They seemed too innocent for the fate that might come upon them.  
  
Candace (or Candy, same person using a nickname) woke to the sound of soft voices near her. One was, she supposed, Manda's, and the other she didn't recognize, but it sounded male, and pretty gentle. Candy couldn't tell what they were whispering, and didn't really care. Her head was pounding and she was a little too aware of the tight bonds on her wrists. She had rolled off the boy a little, but was still close enough to feel his breath and see his brown eyes, opened halfway and staring at her with curiousity.  
  
"Who are you?" asked Candy, maybe a little too abruptly.  
  
"Peregrin Took, or if you like, Pippin." said the boy, starting to wake up a bit more. "What's your name, then?"  
  
"Candace Austin, or Candy if you like."  
  
Pippin smiled faintly, or tried to. "Candy... that's a very cute name... It reminds me of back home, around midsummer's eve when we had sugared fruits, roast apples, the best of my father's ale..." Pippin trailed off and looked like he was deep in memories of long lost tranquility, not to mention skipped meals.  
  
Candy looked at him with wonder. This wasn't kid, he sounded more like a young adult or at least someone beyond his obvious years. "Do you know what's going on, or where we are?"  
  
Pippin stepped out of his reverie. "Well miss, we've been captured by this nasty lot of orcs, and where they're taking us is a mystery to me."  
"That's comforting." said Candy sarcastically.  
  
Pippin stared at her for a few seconds, then caught the sarcasm. Exhaustion did that to people, you started getting a little out of touch with your wits. Candy met his eyes, smiled a little, shifted a bit, and fell asleep. She looked dead tired. Pippin decided to follow suit, knowing they'd be running soon enough. He hoped that Aragorn and the others were coming to save them, not only for his and Merry's sake, but the girls' as well.  
  
Wendy: Weeeell... that's chapter two! Whattaya think? Any better? Worse? Review, please! That very first review was really great, if short, but to the point! Hope you all like it, Jade and I are trying really hard. ^_^ 


	3. Get out of my way!

DISCLAIMER: Everybody but Candace and Manda belongs to Tolkien. I don't see why you would think Merry and Pippin belong to me... I wish, though... cute lil buggers.  
  
Manda and Candy were both awakened by sharp kicks in their sides. Candy got up quickly enough, but Manda lagged a little. Her ankle was swollen to almost two times it usual size, probably because all of the extra stress on it. Merry helped her up before the orcs could lash at her with the whips. Pippin was pulled up to his feet from his hair by an impatient orc. Candy, upon seeing this, tried to tackle the orc, despite its being a good deal bigger than her. All she got out of it was a very powerful punch to the stomach.  
  
Candy fell to the ground into a heap, wheezing. The orc picked her up by the hair, in the same style it had pulled up Pippin.  
  
Pippin yelled out loud and started kicking valiantly at the orcs shins. The orc snarled in anger and smacked him away with just a flick of its large, gnarled paw that served as a hand.  
  
The lead orc walked up to them, growling. "If you don't straighten up and quit fighting you'll wish you were already dead. Pick up those bags and get ready to move, you insufferable dung beetles. If you take just one look at those magic books I'll slay you with my own hand."  
  
Candy sneered at the orc in anger. "What the hell do you mean by magic books? Like I already said, they're not magic books. Did you just stop listening or something?!"  
  
Manda, Pippin, and Merry all looked fearfully at the lead orc. It bared it ugly yellow fangs at them. A nearby orc said, in a leisurely, bored tone, "Of course they're magic. It tells how to conjure lightning storms and fires that would burn an orc to cinders." The orc was obviously talking about the chapters on electricity and chemistry.  
  
Manda straightened up suddenly. "That's right you ugly queer. And I've memorized that little spell on lightning storms. You piss me off again and I'll zap you good, stupid excuse for a monkey!" As she said that Candy, Merry, and Pippin all looked at her shock. Candy sniggered a bit and said quietly, "You go, girl."  
  
Merry and Pippin just stared at her like she had cracked under the pressure and gone insane.  
  
"What did you call me?" snarled the orc ominously.  
  
"You heard me! I could do any of those spells if I just had the mind to!" said Manda defiantly.  
  
"Then why haven't you?" said the orc as it leaned down to where Manda could feel its hot breath on her face. "Why haven't you done these spells to escape?"  
  
"Uh...I, well..." stammered Manda. Obviously this orc was a smart one. Well, he was the leader.  
  
The leader orc sneered and started to walk off, but came rushing back and punched Manda in the head. The force sent her tumbling to the ground. Candy screamed and started wrestling the orcs that blocked her to get to Manda. Merry dropped to his knees beside her and tried to make her speak. "Manda! Manda, can you hear me?" cried the hobbit frantically, tears his clouding vision. He hadn't known her that long, but being together in a traumatic situation would bring any two beings together better than several weeks of leisurely friendship.  
  
A nearby orc laughed out loud and dragged Merry away. He was still yelling Manda's name. Pippin stared at her, pity and horror mingling in his expression. He too tried to get to her but another orc got to him before he even got close. Candy was still fighting tooth and nail but was soon gasping for breath as the orc who was holding her drew back a fist and punched her in the stomach, knocking all the breath out of her. It went black before her eyes, accompanied by sudden red spots.  
  
Pippin started yelling at the orc, trying to make it stop squeezing Candy as tightly as it was. It was preventing her from breathing properly, if at all.  
  
"Enough!" snarled the lead orc. "Carry the fraud sorceresses and the halflings. They've already caused enough commotion. We need to get to Isengard before the horse boys come down on us. The Riders may have already heard their crying."  
  
The four were quickly picked up and toted while the orcs ran along at full speed, not sparing a backward glance. Manda came to her sense later in the night.  
  
Now not only her ankle hurt but her head ached unbearably along with it. Merry was too far behind to see how she was. Candy was still trying to recover her breath, and Pippin was further ahead. Hope seemed to have died. They would have been safer if the orcs were still a little frightened of their `magic.' Now they would surely be killed, after they were questioned about their own world, and maybe even tortured unnecessarily. Besides that, they would all die sooner or later.  
  
The orc company ran all night and the next day until about deepening dusk. They were near a very large looking forest, finding themselves thrown back onto the ground, piled together like a heap of unwanted rag dolls. The orcs all gathered in a group and started conversing in their own broken tongue.  
  
Merry lifted his head gently and looked at Manda's face. It was pale and thin. She was conscious but still in pain.  
  
"Pssst." hissed Pippin. "Merry, have you got a plan?"  
  
Merry looked at him incredulously. "No." He murmured. "I've been too worried about Manda and Candy to worry about escaping."  
  
"Me too," said Pippin. "But before the dropped down on us I had snuck away and threw down my cloak brooch."  
  
"Now Strider will still come." Said Merry excitedly.  
  
"But we can't wait for that. Don't worry, it's alright. An orc fell on me a while back and I cut my bonds on his knife. Now they're on only for show."  
  
"Perfect! But what about the orcs seeing us get away? Four people plus two of them without elven cloaks to hide them are going to stand out a bit. They'll be spotted before-" Merry yelped slightly as a passing orc kicked him casually in the side.  
  
"Be quiet or I'll slit your throat." It growled. All of the sudden it turned its head sharply to look at the huddled group. A frantic orc had just scrambled up to them. It was saying breathlessly, "The riders! It was one of the northern orcs, the fool, who got us caught. They've already killed many of the Uruk-hai." As he finished, the shrill neighing of a horse could be heard in the distance. The orcs all got up, grabbed their weapons, and crashed through the tallish grass, following the sound of metal on metal.  
One of the orcs, Grishnakh as he was called, leaned over them. He glared down angrily, then snatched them all by the arm or by their clothes and dragged them away from the general base camp. He started searching them almost immediatly. "Alright, where is it? Where are you hiding it?" snapped Grishnakh.  
  
"Where's what?" cried Manda, finally pulling her senses into place. Candy was rolled onto her side. One of Grishnakh's grubby paws groped her chest, necessarily on accident.  
  
"HEY!" she screamed. "Watch what you're grabbing and GET OUT OF MY WAY!" With this she had enough strength from anger, and since her legs were untied, she kicked the ugly orc straight in her drooling jaw. The orc was thrown onto his back with a howl of rage, and as he clambered to his feet and arrow shot his straight the his head, easily breaking his skull. They could see it protruding out of the its left eye. Manda was staring at it, her mouth open as if in a silent scream. Candy was staring at Grishnakh's lifeless body, a look of grim triumph lacing her solemn face.  
  
Pippin and Merry had already begun to untie their bonds. "Come on now." Warned Pippin, starting on Manda's feet.  
  
"Ow!" whimpered Manda. Her ankle still hurt like crap. Merry had gotten Candy's hands untied and was starting to crawl away. "We need to find cover so they won't see us." He whispered. Yells and roars could be heard in the distance. All four crawled to a small copse, standing alone a few dozen yards from the rest of the forest. Loud howls were nearby, and they all huddled together under Merry and Pippin's elven cloaks.  
  
Eventually the harsh screams of the orcs ceased, only to be replaced with the acrid scent of burning flesh and smoke. From their position in the trees they could see the outlines of men on horseback before some huge bonfire.  
  
"Should would go and meet them?" Manda questioned tentatively.  
  
"No. They might take us for orcs." Said Pippin. "Here now. Have some lembas; then we'll have enough strength to make for the forest." Pippin produced a small leafy wrapped packet, containing what looked like small flat cakes. Merry handed some to Manda and Candy.  
  
"What are they?" asked Candy, sniffing one.  
  
"Lembas. The elves gave these to us. Don't dawdle. Eat so we can get out of here."  
  
"Elves?" said Candy to Manda, who had raised her eyebrows. "Uh huh, sure." She shoved the cake into her mouth. She was shocked at how much better she felt. It seemed to spread a glow all through her.  
  
"Alright then, let's go. Manda, can you walk on your ankle?" asked Merry.  
  
"I can try." Manda answered. She got to her feet gingerly, stifling a cry. "Ah, nope... can't." She grumbled.  
  
Candy sighed heavily and looked at Manda mischievously.  
  
"Well, I guess today's my lucky day."  
  
"What are you talking about?" asked Manda irritably.  
  
"Well, I get to carry you around all day. Who wouldn't just die for the opportunity?" Candy said sarcastically.  
  
The mismatched crew walked into the forest stumbling, trying to get as far away from the carnage as they could. Merry and Pippin were in the lead with Candy somewhat lagging behind because of Manda's weight, carrying her piggy back.  
  
"Gosh dang you're heavy! Can we please take a rest real quick?" she whined. "Manda is really heavy. You try carrying this tub of lard around."  
  
Manda slapped her playfully in the head. "Oh shut up! I can't help it! Besides, you're the only one here who actually can carry me."  
  
Merry turned around at this and walked back to where Candy was. "I'll take her for a turn. She isn't big at all. Manda had been lying on me for some time when the orcs first got the both of you, and I couldn't feel a thing."  
  
"That was probably because Manda was cutting off all your circulation. Of course you wouldn't feel a thing!" said Candy quickly. Manda poked her in the side causing Candy to squeal and fall to the ground. Manda shrieked out loud as she landed on her ankle.  
  
"You freakin' idiot!" she screamed.  
  
"Hey! It was your fault retard, so boo-hoo!"  
  
Merry came over and picked Manda up and adjusted her to where she was in a piggy-back ride position a lot like when Candy was carrying her. Just that it looked a little odd, but not much since Manda was already pretty short herself. She was blushing bright red. She kinda liked this. Nothing gross, but it was kinda neat how he was a guy and everything, and that he could carry her when he was like, a foot shorter than her.  
  
"Well!" said Candy getting to her feet. "Isn't this just the perfect Kodak moment! Where is a camera when you need one?" With a mockingly cute smile she turned and made small kissing sounds.  
  
Merry was blushing a deep crimson when she walked to where Pippin was, and thankfully, stopped making those noises.  
  
"Don't listen to her." Said Manda in a hushed tone. "She's just kidding us, but don't worry. We'll get her back."  
  
Merry turned his head as best he could to look at her. She too was still pink, but had a knowing smile on her face. Manda was going to get her back. Candy could be scared pretty easily if she didn't expect anything.  
  
It was a little bit of a surprise to Manda that Merry could carry her. She'd always thought she must weigh a ton; she didn't check the scales much. He was carrying her like she *wasn't* just over a foot taller than him. More like she was a lot shorter. It was a pretty funny sight, what with her arms around his shoulders and her chin on one of them, tilted at an odd angle, and her legs hooked at the knee by his elbows. No wonder Candy had made fun of them.  
  
They walked on for some time. At one point Manda tilted her head a little and whispered into Merry's ear, "Hey, Merry... sneak up behind Candy, quietly."  
  
"Why?" asked Merry, somewhat more loudly than Manda.  
  
"Shh! Keep you voice down. Just sneak up on her, and I'm gonna grab her and scare her, to get her back."  
  
Merry nodded a little uneasily and started to creep closer to Candy and Pippin, who were talking animatedly about something or other. It was difficult to follow, since the subject was bouncing around like mad.  
  
As soon as Merry was close enough Manda stretched out a hand and grabbed Candy's side, digging in her fingers and tickling her. Candy jerked away and screamed, her shriek splitting the air, and jumped into Pippin. They both went crashing into the spindly brush and thrashed around until the could both get back up again.  
  
Candy glared at Manda with a look that said quite plainly, `You're gonna die.' Pippin was looking between the two of them nervously. Candy's look was defintely not pleasant. Manda and Merry were laughing uproariously, Manda pointing at Candy weakly then dropping her arm to hang over Merry. She was laughing too hard to use her muscles. ((J&W: I'm sure you've been like that before.))  
  
Candy gave them an evil look and turned on her heel. She grabbed Pippin by his cloak and started dragging him off into the forest. Merry followed, still chuckling to himself. Manda had fallen into a silent, weak giggles, burying her face on his shoulder.  
  
It seemed like they walked on for a long time after that. The forest was starting to get oppressing, squeezing in on all sides. The air seemed stagnant somehow, like it hadn't stirred for years. The lack of light was unnerving as well. By now Merry was getting tired, and Manda's weight was starting to get to him. His back was hurting a little and his elbows felt bruised. He was sure Manda was asleep.  
  
Pippin gave Merry a sidelong glance, appraising his situation. "I think," he began loudly, then his voice shrinking under the trees, "That we all need a nice rest."  
  
Merry nodded gravely. He could really use some sleep. Candy looked around, then just sat down where she stood. "Alright then." Candy said, raising her voice against the deepening darkness of the forest. "Here is as good place as any, I think. I'm going to go to sleep now, and if any of you wake me up while I get my beauty rest you're going to pay for it." With that she flopped down onto the sparse grass and, by all respects, she looked asleep almost immediately.  
  
Her three companions stared at her blankly for a few moments, then Pippin shrugged and sat down near her. Merry eased Manda to the ground, then helped her to sit down. Then, looking a little embarrassed, moved away and sat down a bit apart from them. They all silently shifted around, Pippin and Manda eventually laying down while Merry stayed upright. Then Manda started giggling again. She curled up into a ball, shaking with only partly suppressed giggles.  
  
"What is it?" Pippin asked quietly. "What's so funny? You're not hysterical are you?"  
  
"Eehee... No, no... I have this really great joke. What do you get when you put a snail on a ship?"  
  
Merry and Pippin traded confused glances. "I don't know." Pippin finally admitted.  
  
"A SNAILOR!" she burst out, rolling into a new fit of unsuppressed euphoria. From where Candy lay come soft sniggers, which soon became gales of laughter, quickly joining Manda's.  
  
"Where did you get that from?" Merry asked nervously.  
  
"Spongebob Squarepants." Candy managed to choke out from her place on the ground. "That show rules..."  
  
They were laughing like mad, and Merry and Pippin didn't really know why. Despite that, they were soon taken up by it and joined them. The forest seemed to being ringing with the laughter, and the hobbits felt much better for it. It was very comforting to laugh without a care in the world, especially when, to their keen ears, it was the merriment of a girl's laugh.  
  
Eventually they calmed down, all smiling and looking very satisfied. Almost immediately they heard Candy's soft snoring. A heavy sleeper, it would seem. They didn't say any more to each other, but it was understood that Merry would be on watch until it was somebody else's turn. Pippin and Manda slowly fell into a deep, easy rests. In time the lethargy swept over Merry too, but he refused to go to sleep until his watch was over. The heavy stifling of the trees crept back with it.  
  
Manda was awakened in the night by Pippin.  
  
"I would have woken up Candy," he whispered apologetically, "but she wouldn't pay me any mind. I'm sorry to wake you, especially since your ankle is probably hurting."  
  
Manda nodded in the dark, even though the gesture was probably lost to Pip. "It's perfectly fine." She answered in as pleasant a tone as she could manage. She was tired. "I need some time to think anyway." Pippin apologized again, and she reassured him again. He stayed up with her a while, but the forest soon lulled him to sleep and left Manda alone to think.  
  
In the black forest, she looked over the situation. She was with a pair of midgets, who had been kidnapped by nasty monsters that they called orcs. The orcs had captured Candy and herself, though how the two of them had gotten there was still a mystery. Before then, she remembered lots of noise and math, but that seemed so long ago. She wondered if she would see home again. She actually missed it a little... Candy probably wasn't. She was from an abusive family, and was always looking for an excuse to get away from them.  
  
Any way, they were in a spooky forest with tons of big spooky trees and spooky bugs and spooky noises and spooky rustling noises and spooky... creaking noises? What was with all of the noises?! She was losing her train of thought. What was doing all of the rustling? She looked around nervously, but she couldn't see much. There was a faint groaning, as of wood under strain, and a whispering noise of leaves that sounded like it ought to be words. She looked up at the faint moonlight, and saw the limbs of the trees moving very distinctly. This wasn't the wind moving them. Suddenly there was a whistling noise and then dirt flying up from her right side, and more creaking. Something shifted through the dirt, and she briefly saw a long crooked branch raising back into the air. It had tried to hit her!  
  
She yelped out loud, and Pippin immediately jerked awake beside her. "What is it?!" he gasped. This woke Merry, who asked a similar question; "What's going on?" The trees were creaking and straining very loudly now, making it sound like an angry mob was everywhere. Manda screamed bloody murder when another whip-like limb or root slashed again, this time on her left, narrowly missing Pippin and Merry. Candy groaned where she lay.  
  
"I won't fall fer it again... you can't fool me, go to sleeeeep..."  
"This is NOT A JOKE!" shrieked Manda, who lurched halfway to her feet and scrambled to Candy, grabbing her by the shoulders and shaking her. "The trees are trying to kill us! Get up, please get up!"  
  
A long low humming started abruptly, then got louder, soon seeming to vibrate through the dirt beneath them. Candy was awake now, staring around frantically. The humming increased even more, until they could feel it in their chests, reminiscent of a loud movie theater. The trees grew immediately quiet, and after a few tense, shaken minutes the humming stopped and the bone wrenching silence stole back. They sat there, shivering and gasping for breath and trying to recover from the terror of the trees. You just didn't expect trees to start trying to do you in.  
  
Wendy: What'd ya think? I KNOW this took forever to put up, but it's there now and Jade and I feel much better. We've been planning the rest of the plot, which is partly why it took so long, and partly because the science fair took up some of our time. Chapter 4 will hopefully be up faster than chapter 3 was. *nodnod* Review, please! It makes us feel all tingly ^_^ And please don't take that the wrong way... *looks up nervously.* 


	4. Big Scary Talking Trees

J&W: Thanks to all of you nice people for reviewing us! Jade says she loves ya'll. And to CoolMistaria1- How did you know we're American? The e-mail addy? *ponders* Thanks to Kearbear, Bus Friend, Ly-chan, Kaze no Tenshi, evilspoofauther1Sven, Lady Jean Greenleaf, and my first reviewer Abigail. Big happy chunk of support there, whee. Here's the fourth chapter, enjoy (if at all possible), review, you know, the usual. Also, please point out any typos... I'm to lazy to go over it.  
  
  
  
DISCLAIMER: Not mine. Not Jade's. Everything in here except for Manda and Candy belong to the late J.R.R. Tolkien. Of course! Like either of us could come up with anything nearly as complex as LotR... The little bit of song Candy mumbles belongs to Pink, the singer. ^_^  
  
  
  
After the trees had stopped, Candy remained where she was on the ground. Manda still gripped her shoulders tightly, but was looking out past her at the motionless trees.  
  
Candy abruptly flopped back to the ground and rolled onto her side, not looking at either Manda or the two hobbits. She was quietly whispering to herself, "I'm crazy, I'm crazy, trees don't move, I'm gonna wake up, I'm gonna wake up, trees don't move don't move just like the bears don't drink coke." ((J: This is from those commercials with the polar bears drinking coca cola. That's a frickin' scary thing, and she tells herself that they don't *really* drink coke.))  
  
Pippin crawled over to the two girls and shook Candy lightly. "No, you're not crazy, because I believe we all saw it. Either we're all insane and we might as well play along or it really happened. If that's true we need to get out of here!"  
  
"No dip, Sherlock..." Manda muttered angrily. "Master of the obvious are we..."  
  
Pippin looked at her in surprise. "Ah, what?"  
  
"Nothing!" Manda snapped. "Let's just go to sleep, since all we have around us for probably miles is trees. We can't run, so let's at least wait for daylight."  
  
Merry watched blankly. He wasn't used to seeing Manda ticked off; all he'd seen of her was her tired or cheerful side. He'd almost believed that was all that existed of her. Reality check, heh. "But what if-" he started, but the angry whisper of Manda cut him off.  
  
"Shut up! Or you'll be missing a few yards of skin... I have nails, unlike Candy... speaking of, shaddup!"  
  
Candy was whispering, "The Exorcist girl isn't gonna get me... she's not gonna spiderwalk... no faces are gonna flash... eeek!" Manda had thrown a dirt clod at her from the loosened soil nearby.  
  
"I'm still on watch." Manda whispered faintly. "I'll stay up for a few more hours and wake one of you up.  
  
"I'll stay up with you." Offered Merry sweetly.  
  
"No, I'll just throw a fit at you or something. Go to sleep." Manda sounded very decided.  
  
"Are you absolutely cer-" he shut up as something whizzed past his face, and the spray of loose dirt told him she'd thrown another chunk of dirt.  
  
Pippin didn't say a word. He wouldn't fancy a mouthful of mud.  
  
They all settled down after that, staying as quiet as possible, partly to avoid disturbing the trees and partly to avoid Manda's wrath.  
  
  
  
Pippin woke up first, and opening his eyes, saw Manda's slouching back. With a start, he realized she'd probably stayed up all night. He whispered to her, and she jumped, her head jerking up and one hand flying out as if to hit someone or something. She shook her head then twisted around to look at Pippin.  
  
"Yeah?" she croaked.  
  
"Have you been awake since the trees?" Pippin asked softly.  
  
"I guess so... Musta nodded off just now though." She whispered back hoarsely. Her throat was almost as dry as it had been with the orcs.  
  
Pippin soon shook Merry awake, and Manda prodded Candy until she rolled over and smacked poor Mada in the face. She smacked her friend back, and if not for the hobbits they might have started a real catfight.  
  
A few minutes later Candy sat on the ground, looking moody and nibbling at some lembas. Manda was getting way to bossy, in her opinion. She wished she had her diary with her; she felt the need to write. And that was how she started singing Pink's Dear Diary.  
  
They left the miserable little 'camp', which was basically just a little space between the trees where some of the twigs and leaves were brushed away, and all too soon they were off again. Manda could almost walk after the rest, but still needed support on one side. Once again Merry volunteered to help. Candy just walked along, muttering 'Dear dear diary, I wanna tell my secrets... cuz your the only one that I know who'll keep them..." and so on. Pippin walked beside Candy, trying to memorize the song, since he liked the tune.  
  
And so, in this way, they made gradual progress, even if they didn't know where they were trying to get to. Eventually they found a little river and drank there. Merry and Pippin noted it tasted a little strange, but neither Manda nor Candy seemed to care. The two hobbits filled their leather flasks, and Candy had a few plastic soda bottles she'd forgotten to throw away for the past few days, so they filled those too. The two hobbits eyed the bottles but said nothing.  
  
When they were moving again, Manda had a bout of curiousity. She had always liked mystical or weird things, and that seemed to fit wherever they were very well. "Tell me about the elves please, Merry, Pippin."  
  
Merry and Pippin looked at each other blankly. "Well..." started Merry, "We probably don't know much more than you do, except that they aren't terrible like all those western countries are making them out to be. They're quite a fair people."  
  
"Ah huh. Do they have pointy ears? Green hair? Are they bugeyed?" Candy asked dully. She saw the whole magic affair as very childish."  
  
"Well, no..." Pippin said quietly. "They haven't got green hair or bug eyes... They look almost normal, if you just see one. They have got pointed ears though."  
  
Candy snorted and stopped asking. Manda looked down at Merry curiously, and on an impulse pushed his curly hair from his ears. "They are pointed!" She gasped. "I thought I was imagining things yesterday. Are you an elf?" She yelled down at him, a little too loudly.  
  
Merry winced at the extra volume and shook his head. "No, not an elf. A hobbit, thank you."  
  
Manda looked blank. "But you said elves have pointy ears."  
  
And so have hobbits. You might note, if you ever meet one, that most elves are rather tall. All hobbits are short. You must have noticed that much."  
  
Candy blinked over at them. "I thought you were midgets. Figured it would be rude to say anything." Manda nodded in agreement.  
  
Pippin shook his head. "We're taller than average, just so you know. Back in the shire we're big imposing fellows.  
  
"The Shire?" A polite question from Manda.  
  
"Where hobbits live, to put it simply. But it is a simple place, so it fits. It's very green and lush and happy, with lots of good-natured hobbit folk and lots of usually well meant gossip." Pippin sounded wistful as he said this.  
  
"Regular farms boys then." Candy drawled.  
  
"I suppose so." Agreed Merry and Pippin together.  
  
They were quiet for a while longer, with only the sound of their moving feet and they whispering of the trees to accompany them, when Merry glanced up at Manda and asked, "Where do you come from?"  
  
Manda glanced at Candy. 'Tell them everything?' her look asked. Candy shook her head, 'No, not now.' Manda looked at her for a moment, then answered Merry. "A city."  
  
"What city?" inquired Pippin.  
  
"Mustang." Offered Candy.  
  
"Never heard of that." Said Pippin companionably. "Must be far from the shire, or too small to be on a map.  
  
"Both." Said Manda.  
  
"Where is it then?" asked Merry, not registering the discomfort in their voices.  
  
"The middle of nowhere," said Candy.  
  
"I thought you said it was a city. Surely it must be somewhere." Pippin.  
  
"It's a little city." Manda.  
  
"More of a village?" Merry.  
  
"Yeah, sure." Candy.  
  
Pippin hmmed a little suspiciously, then peered through the trees and gasped. "A clearing!" Which there was. It was a little rocky hill where the trees hadn't grown, and sunlight was shining down on it.  
  
There was a mad scramble as they all took off for the clearing, Manda and Merry somewhat behind, but they all got there and sat or lay down, enjoying the light.  
  
"Ah, sunlight... It feels so warm after that cold stuffy forest." Manda murmured.  
  
"Yeah... It was starting to get to me." said Candy calmly. She was stretched out on a flat section of rock looking absolutely blissful. "Reminded me of school, always so cold and everything."  
  
At the mention of school, Merry began wondering exactly how old the girls were. He knew they were young, but hobbits had a longer lifespan than most people, so might be younger than he thought. Also, most hobbits he knew had gotten a meager 'what-you-need-to-know' education and little more, which made him even more uncertain of their ages. They were either younger than they looked, real scholars, or things were very different in 'Mustang.' So he asked. "How old are you two? Not to be impolite or nosy, just curious. It's perfectly alright if you don't want to answer."  
  
"I'm fifteen, sixteen in September, Candy's sixteen in October," said Manda, without a moment's hesitation.  
  
Pippin looked a little bewildered at their young age. "Only 15? I'm 29-" he started to state, but was interrupted by a much deeper, elderly voice that emanated from the trees.  
  
"I'm older than all of you added together and multiplied ten times over." The voice drawled slowly, resonating in deep tones.  
  
The group froze.  
  
"Who... Who's there?" called Manda faintly.  
  
The deep, slow voice seemed closer the second time. "I am Fangorn as the elves would have called me, or maybe Treebeard to you younglings. Such a hasty name, seeing as I've been around as long as I have."  
  
"I can see something in the trees. It... it looks like a tree itself..." Candy whispered. "It's big."  
  
There was a hushed silence as the girls and hobbits waited in tense silence. All too soon they could see the source of the voice; A tall, treeish looking man of between eight and twelve feet. It was hard to guess, since neither of the girls were much for estimating distances. He had 'hair' that went out almost exactly like the leaves and branches of a normal tree. He had a twiggy beard, which covered much of his rough dark face, which looked to be made of bark. He was completely covered in bark, as a tree would be. Two huge limbs seemed to serve as arms, at the ends widening into a gigantic palm and splitting into huge finger-like branches. About where a man's groin ought to be the tree split into two legs, with huge feet that were covered in meshy roots.  
  
The hobbits, being hobbits, and very diplomatic fellows, threw themselves into conversation, very quickly finding the tree-guy was a very hospitable fellow; kind, but boring. It didn't take long to introduce their own party to him, and for the tree man, Treebeard, to identify himself as an ent. Candy would describe them like so. "Ents are big tree people who talk waaay to slow and don't know when to shut the hell up! I mean, seriously, nobody wants to know about some guy who chopped a few old trees down. Except for maybe those mindless hobbits."  
  
It seemed all too soon to Manda and Candy that they were being given a ride to something called an entmoot. Treebeard had gotten awfully worried over something the hobbits had said, apparently. He carried them two at a time for most of the way, Manda usually being in one hand or the other, since her ankle was still acting up. The fricking tree-thing was tireless, it seemed, and went on for miles.  
  
When they finally stopped it was to rest (Manda: Thank god!) and tell campfire stories. Or, big huge table stories, since there was no campfire and there was a gigantic table that they got to sit on. (Candy: Oh joy! Sittin' on a big gritty table to listen to boring stories when we could be sleeping...) Treebeard told them about entwives, would had gone away a long time ago and left the ents without any way of reproducing.  
  
The also drank an ent draught, some weird spiced water that made their hair and whole body tingle, like they were growing abruptly. They stayed at the spot, an odd hollow in the trees with a few stone pillars and a nearby bubbling stream, for the night. It rained, and they slept.  
  
  
  
Manda lay in the dark for a long time, listening to the rain, Candy's breathing, and the quiet murmurings of the two hobbits and the ent. It was very soothing, and she drifted off for a while... she woke up just enough to hear Pippin, Merry, and Treebeard talking about a ring and some guy called Saruman... 'I've heard that name before... with the orcs." And then she just dozed off.  
  
  
  
Candy asked Treebeard what an entmoot was in the morning, and he told her that it was a gathering of all the ents who could be alerted to discuss some important matter. When she asked what they were meeting about, the two hobbits and the ent looked between eachother.  
  
"Something about Saruman and a ring." Said Manda softly.  
  
Treebeard acted first, surprisingly enough. "We mean to stop Saruman from killing any more trees and to keep him from helping the dark lord Sauron, however inadvertantly."  
  
The girls were silent. They didn't know what was going on, and there wasn't much use in trying to understand it. She had a feeling it would take a while anyway, and that they wouldn't care one way or the other.  
  
For a long time Treebeard carried or led them to the entmoot. Soon they heard other ents, calling eachother in the distance with loud 'hoom' noises.  
  
They shortly met with dozens of other ents, all varying in shape and form and all resembling some sort of tree. The 'talked' to each other using musical humming noises for some time, and left them in the care of a younger looking ent, Quickbeam. As it turned out, Quickbeam didn't know how to do much but wander around and talk. Manda and Candy convinced him to let the rest and nap for a few hours.  
  
When they woke up, they were all bored. There was very little to do. Small talk was the only thing to do, and it was pretty dull.  
  
"I like your hair, Quickbeam. Gotta love the rugged look," said Manda a little sarcastically.  
  
"Hom, thank you..." said the ent slowly. "Yours is very nice and short. You look well hedged like so."  
  
Pippin raised his head at that. "Why *do* you wear your hair so short? You almost look like a boy..."  
  
Manda ran her fingers through her hair, which was no longer than the nape of her neck. It was cut very ruggedly, with bangs and lots of unevenness. "I like it this way. It's easy to take care of, and I think it's kind of cute." She paused and messed with her hair for a moment longer. "Eww..."  
  
"What?" Asked Candy nervously. "You haven't got lice or something have you? We've been in these trees for so long..."  
  
"I don't know about lice, but my hair is really greasy. I just realized it's practically plastered to my skull."  
  
Candy touched her own hair and nodded. "Mine too..." She looked at Merry and Pippin meaningfully. The both looked dirty, and she'd noticed. Oh, how she'd noticed. "We could all use a bath, you guys. A bath. Where we can all be clean."  
  
Pippin turned to Quickbeam. "Ah. Do you know of any places that would work as a bathing pool?"  
  
The ent thought for a moment, then nodded slowly. "Yes, I believe so. A little ridge is some ways downstream. There was a small waterfall, and over the ages it has turned into a more drastic drop into a little pool."  
  
Manda and Candy were up in a flash, pelting downstream like they were being chased by wolves. Pippin and Merry lagged behind, got a little more information out of Quickbeam, then hurried after them.  
  
After a few hundred yards they slowed to a jog, then a walk, then a trudge. Manda turned and called back to the trailing hobbits. "How far did he say it was?!"  
  
One of the hobbits called back, "A few miles!"  
  
So they trudged along some more. "Great." Manda muttered. "More walking."  
  
"It's for a good cause." Said Candy cheerfully. "We need a bath. We NEED a BATH."  
  
And so, they eventually made it to the pool. It was about ten feet wide, five feet at the deepest point, with a drop of about six feet from the top of the little waterfall that formed it to the pool. Manda and Candy, assuming they had enough time before the hobbits showed up, stripped down and looked down at the water. Manda jumped in first, and at her shocked scream, Merry and Pippin came thrashing through the trees.  
  
"What's going on?! Manda?!" yelled Merry and Pippin together. Candy shrieked and modestly covered herself, throwing herself bodily into the water and screaming as well.  
  
"It's COLD, damnit!!!!" roared Manda.  
  
"Shit yeah!!" snarled Candy.  
  
Pippin sat down on the ridge, out of sight of the girls and sounding a little bewildered. "Ah... it is a mountain stream, you know... of course it's going to be cold."  
  
"SHADDUP!" snapped Manda.  
  
Merry had started to strip down as well, not thinking that the girls might be uncomfortable swimming with a pair of (male!) naked hobbits. But oh, how they were. Candy looked up and screamed, "What are you DOING?" which startled him. Manda looked up and squealed, "Get your shirt back on! Wait your turn! That's messed up!"  
  
Merry blinked and sat down beside Pippin, pulling his things back on. "Oh." He said quietly. "Strange girls they are..." murmured Pippin.  
  
While they waited for the girls to finish bathing they talked quietly and inspected Manda and Candy's clothing.  
  
Pippin was eying Candy's bright red t-shirt, which sported an adorable SpongeBob SquarePants logo. "Sponge. Bob... Sqaure pants. But that's a shirt, and it certainly isn't sqaure."  
  
"They mentioned it earlier." Said Merry. "The snail and ship joke I believe." The looked at it for a while, then Pippin said, " I think I understand. The character on the shire is square, er, more rectangular, but aside from that... he does where square shaped pants. I'm sure they could explain more later. Which brings to mind, I would how much longer they'll be. I'm tempted to fall asleep."  
  
"So'm I, but who knows when they might need us to jump to the rescue?" said Pippin wryly.  
  
"Just as well, I sink like a stone when I try to swim and you aren't much better." Merry drawled.  
  
"I'd use my incredible wit, of course." Pippin smirked.  
  
"I rather fancy you would only jump in to get yourself saved, you ogre. I noticed you peeking down at Candy just now."  
  
Pippin blushed bright red. "Just checking on her!"  
  
Merry chuckled at his younger relative. "If I catch you looking again I'll have to thrash you." He said, joking.  
  
"Why? Someone down there you don't want me to see?" pried Pippin.  
  
"Uh, no. Just... protecting the poor girls from your terrible gaze. You're a regular basilisk, you're so hideous. The poor girls are just too afraid of being turned to stone to say anything."  
  
"He is-" splash! "He-" cough "is not! He's cute!" called Candy decidedly.  
  
"Heheheh.." Pippin chuckled.  
  
  
  
Down in the little pool Manda and Candy were whispering to each other.  
  
"Who do you think is cuter?" asked Candy of Manda.  
  
"I... that's a mean question! They're both cute."  
  
"Oh come on!" prodded Candy.  
  
"Errr... fine.... Merry." Manda said slowly.  
  
"Merry?" Candy sputtered. "No way. Pippin is adorable."  
  
"He's alright, but I like Merry more." Manda said a little defiantly. "Pippin's little scottish accent is cute and all, but Merry is just... Merry."  
  
"Eheh... Manda and Merry sittin' in a tree.." Candy started to taunt. Manda blushed bright red and called up to the hobbits, "HEY! We're done, throw our clothes down please!"  
  
"But they'll get wet!" objected Pippin.  
  
"They won't take long to dry, and there's no way I'm going to climb that rise naked." Manda yelled.  
  
"Alright, fine..." The two hobbits through down their clothes one article at a time. And man, pants are freakin' hard to get on wet. Eventually they climbed up the sheer face of the rocky ridge and joined the hobbits, laying face down on the rocks to dry while the undressed and jumped into the water, then rolling over and drying the other side once that was done. All too soon the hobbits finished, and Candy and Manda retreated back to Quickbeam's place.  
  
They followed the same routine for a few days. There wasn't much to do but talk, tell stories, swim, sunbathe, and play little games. By the time Treebeard came back they were all bored out of there mind, excluding Quickbeam, who never seemed to get fed up with anything.  
  
"We are going to Isengard. Saruman must be punished for his actions. The ents agree unanimously. We leave immediatly." Treebeard said, a little faster than usual.  
  
Quickbeam nodded stiffly. "I was going to go no matter what the group chose at the entmoot."  
  
"Yes," said Treebeard slowly. " You were always very hasty. Remember, you got your name by answering a question before it was even finished."  
  
Quickbeam nodded and motioned to Treebeard. Quickbeam picked up Manda and Pippin, Treebeard taking Merry and Candy.  
  
It didn't take long at all for the trees –wait, ents, to prepare. In hours they were all stomping away, singing long songs and generally being about as mean-looking as is possible when you're a kind hearted treeman. Manda noticed first a line of tall dark trees following them. When asked, Quickbeam named them as huorns and said the ents shepherded them.  
  
"They very much despise the race of men, Manda, so stay clear of them unless you've an ent with you. They may try to do you harm on your own."  
  
"They have before." Mused Pippin. "Gave us a real scare. I suppose one of your kind stopped them?"  
  
"Treebeard, I expect. That's his usual wandering grounds."  
  
Candy was soon asleep, curled into a compact ball in the huge hand of Treebeard. She woke when Treebeard gently rolled her to the ground by Manda, who was sitting upright.  
  
"Hom, Manda, Candy, stay here. Merry and Pippin will be closer to the siege than you, since they're... ahm... more capable. It safe here."  
  
Candy was soon asleep again, but Manda stayed up to watch the siege of the tall black tower of Isengard.  
  
  
  
Wendy&Jade: Very sorry that took so long! Spring break and general laziness held us back... you know. Apathy is a terrible thing. Thanks fer the patience, and chapter five shouldn't be too long in coming. 


	5. In Which Manda Freaks Lots

A/N: It's still Tolkien's story, except for Manda and Candy.  
  
"So who are we supposed to be waiting for again?" asked Manda in a monotone voice.  
  
"The King Theoden, and some friends we parted with before being captured by orcs." Merry answered faintly.  
  
"Oh." Manda looked out across the oily, murky water that used to be dry land. Tall dark trees were everywhere, with a few moving around slowly and carefully. Those would be the ents, circling around and keeping an eye on things. Creepy... she suppressed a shudder and looked back to her friends. A few minutes passed before she started to ask "So who are we wait-"  
  
"King and friends." Merry and Pippin had been closer to the siege, of course, and told them the details of what had happened. The ents had been throwing themselves at the tower and going crazy at first, being so enraged. Treebeard had calmed them down again and made them back off, to dam up some river and divert the flow to 'clean' the tower and all of the gross tunnels around it. The ents were keeping watch over the place to make sure Saruman didn't escape, since he was still in there, along with a weird little man called Wormtongue. He'd shown up after the initial storming, but had managed to get himself stuck just the same. Manda felt sorry for him, being stuck in there with a smelly old man. Meanwhile, they were waiting for the King Theoden and some of the hobbit's friends, whoever they were.  
  
Merry was smoking languidly at a pipe he'd found floating near some wreckage, which, luckily for him, had partly consisted of what he just called weed. Candy had erupted into a fit of hysterical giggles when he had said 'weed.' Now she just sprawled out, dozing and singing the song 'I'm Just a Girl' by No Doubt. (Wendy: Not the Britney Spears song! No Doubt's.) Pippin was asleep nearby. He'd practically passed out after smoking a little and giving the pipe to Merry.  
  
Manda glared over at Merry in annoyance. "You shouldn't smoke." How frank.  
  
Merry peered through the thin cloud of smoke and asked, "Why not?"  
  
Manda sniffed. "For one, that smells. I mean, how can you LIKE running around smelling like burnt paper? AND the fact that you'll probably get lung cancer and DIE like my uncle, which sucked, because he was cool. It's bad for ya, man."  
  
"What's cancer?"  
  
Manda hunkered down where she sat. "Big sickness. No like. You no want cancer. Don't smoke."  
  
Merry blinked. "Why are you talking like that? You're acting like I'm stupid..." " Cuz you are! Or at least ignor-" but Merry raised a hand and cut her off. They could hear the sound of many nearby hoofbeats. Kind of funny, the turned there heads, intending to watch whoever was coming approach, but to their surprise, the source was already RIGHT THERE. There was a BUNCH of guys on horses. No point in trying to count all of them... But Manda tried anyway. She actually started pointing at each one and saying numbers, but got lost and gave up.  
  
Merry leaped to his big hobbit feet, and Manda followed suit, wanting to make a good impression. She watched him bow to the group and mimicked him. Almost immediately he started spouting off a bunch of eloquent sentences that Manda would never have been able to come up with off of the top of her head. He made Manda feel stupid, just standing there. She noticed a lot of the riders were eying her. Probably because she was wearing weird clothes, she was young, a GIRL, and she was blushing. Blushing, at a time like this. Damn you, shy monster!  
  
Merry dug a foot into Pippin's sleeping form, introducing himself and Manda nonchalantly (which made her blush more,) then Pippin. All of the eyes that had been on her went to Candy. Manda immediately bounded over and crouched down so she could talk to her without the horse guys hearing.  
  
"Hey! Hey, Candy! Say hello to the king or whatever, he's here. And he has a lot of people on horses and they have lots of swords. So be polite, please!"  
  
Candy growled in a loud voice, "Does it involve moving?!" She asked, because she was comfortable, and tired.  
  
"Yeah... but Candy, it's a king! You hafta get up and say hi because he's a king and he'll have a royal fit because you know how those royal dudes always act so just get up you damn idiot!" she was whispering shrilly.  
  
Candy's voice rose to a yell. "GO AWAY! I'm trying to get some sleep, so BITE ME!"  
  
The riders were chuckling quietly now. Manda glowered down at Candy. "Candy, get your ass up now or I swear I will KILL YOU!" the last bit come out rather unintentionally as a snarl.  
  
Candy rolled over onto her back and yelled up at her, "MANDA! Leave me alone when I'm SLEEPIN'! I swear, if you don't stop I'll take one of your cats and fling it by its tail into the water then watch it drown and LAUGH, so SHUDDUP!"  
  
"What'd you say?"  
  
"I said I'll drown one of your cats if you keep bugging me about your imaginary king and big army," said Candy loudly enough to reach the horse riders at the back of the crowd.  
  
Merry and Pippin looked nervously at the girls and then at the company. They cleared their throats pointedly, which only Manda got the gist of.  
  
Manda stood up, faced the king, and said in her best English, "King Theoden of. somewhere in." she faltered and stuttered. She didn't remember any of the big weird names she had been told. All the men were staring at her, and she could feel her cheeks burning. "I apologize for my friend's behavior," she continued, glancing down at Candy. "Hopefully later, when she's awake, she will apologize and have the pleasure of your acquaintance." She felt a little cheesey talking like that.  
  
At this Candy stood up and exploded in Manda's face, "What do you think you're DOING?! Alright, I'll say hi to your little imaginary king, then will you let me go to sleep?" Candy turned and stopped. Her eyes widened and her jaws grew slack. Manda looked over at Pippin and Merry. They were smiling the same way Manda was. Manda grinned, a little sadistically.  
  
Candy looked back at Manda, then Theoden King and whispered to herself "Holy Shinanagins, there really is a big army and a king."  
  
Theoden looked at the young girl, and assuming she was still in shock, said, "Hello young lady. I'm glad to see you have awakened. How are you feeling? I understand you not getting up and greeting me. Your fair with the orcs must have been a hard blow to such a fragile girl."  
  
Manda raised her eyebrows and muttered, "Fragile?" Which got Pippin and Merry chuckling.  
  
Candy got over her shock and said in a very Big Gay Al way, "I'm super, thanks for asking! And how are you? I bet you're so tired from riding all day and cooking in that armor!" She flashed a very white and innocent smile. Manda looked at her in disbelief and disgust. She could be such a suck-up sometimes. Theoden and Candy were about to talk again, but some old guy in a white robe and a pointy white hat, Manda guessed he was the wizard dude the hobbits had talked about, hobbled up. He said that they had to go on and find Treebeard. They bid their farewells along with Theoden promising to talk with Merry and Pippin about the origination of hobbit weed, and with Candy about anything.  
  
As they rode around the north end of Isengard, Candy walked back to where she had been sleeping, laid down and started to doze off again when Manda came over and said, "Candy, you need to get your sleepy butt up and meet some more people. These are three of the guys that started of in the original group with Merry and Pippin."  
  
Candy moaned and got up irritably. She stomped over to Pippin and Merry, who were standing next to a tall stern man with gray eyes. He looked a lot like Theoden in the way he held himself, very kingly. Candy shook hands, punched him on the shoulder like a guy would do to a friend, muttered a hello, then moved on to a blonde thin dude who had pointy ears, did the same and went to the third, leaving the other two in shock of how they were greeted. Then, unfortunately, she met the short, long, bushy bearded man. She reached out to shake hands, then froze and snatched her fist back, yelling, "What IS that? Dude, it's like Sleepy Hollow!"  
  
"Don't be rude!" yelled Manda. "That's Gimli the dwarf and you didn't even learn the names of the two before. This is Aragorn, son of Arathorn, and this Legolas, son of Thranduil, of Mirkwood," Manda said, pointing to each of the people in turn. Candy raised her eyebrows at Manda, shrugged, said nice to meet you, then went back to her spot and tried to fall asleep, but of course, Manda wouldn't allow it. She came over, bent over Candy's snoozing figure and started tickling her furiously.  
  
Candy started screaming and thrashing about. The new companions that had just joined them were staring at them in bewilderment. Who with any dignity at all would roll about on the ground making one another scream in such a dreadful place as Isengard. Still, it *was* fairly amusing, watching them scream and pitch such a fit. It was obvious they were a little dimwitted, though. Who could behave like that in such a place?  
  
Meanwhile, Candy was showing her weird tendency to roll onto whoever was tickling her and start biting. Because of this, Manda and Candy started rolling on the ground, Manda trying to get Candy off so she could breathe, and Candy trying to make her stop tickling by crushing her. They were both screaming like crazy, reminiscent of wet cats fighting. The five members of the fellowship watched in amusement for about a minute, then with anxiety when Manda started pulling Candy's hair.  
  
Candy followed suit, and they were both shrieking at the top of their lungs, when Pippin jumped into the mess. Manda backhanded him on a reflex and sent him toppling to the ground, mostly because she caught him off guard. Merry tried to intervene too, but Candy eventually kicked him upside the head and sent him sprawling into Pippin, who had been getting up. It didn't seem like they would be finished fighting any time soon when two strong hands roughly jerked them apart.  
  
This seemed to be enough to bring the sense back to them. They sat, staring at each other and panting. It startled them when Gimli's rough voice said, "Young ladies ought to know better than to fight in the dirt like mutts!"  
  
In unison they tore away from him, dashing onto a pile of fallen rocks and staring, wide eyed. Candy gasped, "Get it away, get it away!" much to Manda's annoyance.  
  
"You're so rude!" Manda snarled and pushed her off of the rocks. Candy landed none to lightly, but unhurt overall. She got up, dusting herself off, and left in a huff.  
  
Manda remained on the rock, watching Candy stomp off. When she was lost from view she turned back to the fellowship. "Nice weather we're having, huh?"  
  
  
  
Later, the fellowship and Manda were sitting in a little hut, previously a guard room, and talking about stuff. They seemed a little unwilling to talk about the details of their journey because Manda was there, but of course, she didn't have the sense to leave them to themselves. She just sat there and nodded every time they made subtle suggestions for her to remove herself.  
  
"I'm worried about the r- ah, Frodo. He and Sam surely can't finish the journey by themselves? They could get caught-"  
  
"Who's Frodo? And Sam? And why would they get caught?" interrupted Manda.  
  
"Some of our companions. They left us earlier. And they could get caught because they're in an enemy territory." Aragorn said patiently.  
  
"Why?" asked Manda slowly.  
  
"Because they have some business there." Aragorn responded, his tone the same as before.  
  
"What kind of business?" asked Manda, her tone wheedling.  
  
"Nothing important-" Aragorn started to say, but-  
  
"Then why are they there?" Manda blurted.  
  
"Because they-"  
  
"I mean, it seems kind of stupid to go in if it isn't important and they could get captured in enemy territory." Manda said quickly.  
  
"Look, they're there because they need to transport some important goods and it's the only way to do it. It's really nothing to worry about." Aragorn said, his tone still patient.  
  
"I don't believe you," said Manda happily. She was enjoying bugging the poor guy.  
  
"Well, that's not his problem," said Legolas quietly. "Please, Miss."  
  
"Jones." Manda supplied.  
  
"Please, Miss Jones, please leave. You aren't wanted at the moment." He said, almost nervously.  
  
Manda arched a brow. "I'm not wanted?"  
  
"That's right. Please leave, we'll call you when we wish to speak to you again." Legolas slowly stated. He must've really been feeling his age around such an immature kid.  
  
Manda's eyes began to water. "You don't- Nobody wants me!!" With that, she got up and ran out of the room, hiding her face with her hands.  
  
Aragorn, Gimli, and the Hobbits all turned and icy look on Legolas.  
  
Meanwhile, Manda immediately stopped the sobbing mumbo jumbo and shoved her hands into her pockets, glowering at the dirt. 'How rude! To just tell me to leave like that, he could've been more subtle. Who does he think he is, Jerry Springer?' She would be getting the stupid elf back, that much was sure. 


End file.
